“Come unto me, all ye that labour andare heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you,and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest untoyour souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew11:28-30).

About400 years have passed since Malachi ministered in Jerusalem. These 400 yearsare often called the Silent Years because there were no inspired prophetsduring this time. Malachi had prophesied about the coming of the Messiah andthe prophet who would serve as his forerunner. So for 400 years, the Church ofGod was waiting for this forerunner.

But a lot was taking placeduring this time. God was, as it were, re-arranging the props behind thecurtain. It was a time of great turmoil both on the political-social andreligious front. Politically, world power was shifting from East to West. TheMedo-Persians had over taken the Babylonians at the time of Malachi. But soonthey were over taken by the Greeks under Alexander the Great; and the Greeklanguage became the lingua franca inmuch of the civilised world. But in 63 B.C., the Roman General Pompey marchedinto Jerusalem to conquer it for Rome. There as a terrible slaughter andPalestine came under Roman rule. In God’s wise providence, the spread of theGospel would be facilitated with the Greek language coupled with pax romana, Roman Peace.

TheLord Jesus Christ was born of a virgin around the year 4 or 5 BC. He was theImmanuel, God with us. He was the God-Man who would take the sin of His peopleupon Himself so that they might know the forgiveness of sin.

The book of Matthew was thefirst or one of the first books to record the life and ministry of Christ.Matthew was one of His disciples, and many believe that he had taken notes inAramaic during the time he was with the Lord; but it was only around A.D. 50,that he penned the book under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Now, in some ways the fourGospels (and there are only four mentioned by the Church Fathers) are parallelaccounts. Yet they have different emphases. One convenient way to look at themwould be to use the 4 faces of the Cherubim described in Ezekiel 1:10; or the 4beasts described in Revelation 4:7. Using these pictures, Matthew describesChrist as a King as represented by the Lion. Mark describes Christ as a Servantas represented by the Ox. Luke describes Christ as the Son of Man asrepresented by the face of a Man. John describes Christ as the Son of God asrepresented by the Eagle.

In this instalment of ourseries on the Great and Precious promises of God, we want to look at a promisein the book of Matthew, the Lord helping us.

Matthewhas many comforting promises. The Beatitudes in chapter 5 contain a promiseeach. Then we have the famous promise of the Lord: “Ask,and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall beopened unto you” (Mt 7:7); or the even more famous Matthew 6:33—“Seek ye firstthe kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be addedunto you.”

All these and others besidewould be very profitable to study. However, after some consideration, I feltthat perhaps the most important promise in this book is the Lord Jesus’ promiseof rest in Him which is stated in our text (Mt 11:28-30).

Let’s consider this promise byasking 3 questions: (1) Whom is this promise for? (2) What is the condition ofthis promise? (3) What is the promise?

1. Whom is this Promise for?

The Lord Jesus was in Galilee,preaching to the crowd. He had preached against the hardness of heart of theJews and condemned the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum for theirunbelief. But now He is come to the end of His message. He is giving Hisconcluding words.

It is clear that the Lord isstill speaking in the hearing of everyone present. And yet at the same time, itis clear that he is not calling everyone.

Its like, if I were to say: allof you who are wearing socks, please stand up. It is clear that I am speakingto everyone, and yet my call is only for those who are wearing socks!

Now, the Lord is issuing a gospel call. Somesay that the call is going out to the elect. In fact, in the previous verse,the Lord speaks of those whom He would reveal the Father unto (v. 27). Who arethese but the elect? Well there is a sense in which the Lord’s call is only forHis elect. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” saysthe Lord (Jn 10:27).

ButI would put it to you that the Lord is not in our text specifically calling outto the elect. You see, in the first place, no one can objectively tell whetherhe is elect. It’s like if I call out and say: “All of you who will die by age63, please stand up.” Will you know if I am speaking to you? No, of course not!The Lord’s call is not so ambiguous.

In the second place, the Lordstates clearly who He is speaking to “Comeunto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden.” It is possible that thereis an elect in the audience, but his time is not yet come, so he is notspeaking to him as yet. It is even possible that an elect may have backsliddenand for a season is hardened in his heart. The Lord is not speaking to him atthe moment.

Towhom, then, is the Lord speaking to?

Somecommentators suggest that He is referring to those who have been greatlyburdened by the Mosaic Laws with all the additional burdens imposed by theScribes and Pharisees (Lk 11:46).

Thisinterpretation is, however, very unlikely since Matthew has not recordedanywhere before chapter 11 that the Pharisees and Scribes have been layingunnecessary burdens on the people. In fact, in His sermon on the mount, Jesushad been expounding the Law of God and telling the people that theirrighteousness must exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees (Mt 5:17-20). Andwhen He expounded on the Law, His standards are even higher than that of theScribes and Pharisees!

Whomthen is the Lord referring to?

Ibelieve He is referring to those who are weary and burdened because of theirsin: the guilt, the power, and the consequence of sin. These are those who havebecome sensible of their sinfulness, and their guiltiness, or are suffering theconsequence of sin.

Theyare sick in their hearts because of the burden of sin—their own sin, and theygroan under it in weariness for they are now aware of how dreadful and eviltheir hearts are. They are awakened to their own peril and know that they arewithout hope. They feel crushed by the weight of sin, but are helpless to savethemselves.

Suchis the case of the prodigal son “when he came to himself” (Lk 15:17). Such wasthe case of the publican who hung down his head and smote upon his breast,crying, “God be merciful to me a sinner” (Lk 18:13). Such was the case of thosewho heard Peter in his inaugural sermon whose heart were pricked that theycried, “What shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). Such was the case with the Philippianjailer, who after experiencing the earthquake, fell down before Paul and Silasand cried unto them: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:29-30).

It is to these and these alone, that the Lordstretches forth His arms and invites them to rest in Him. “I am not come tocall the righteous, but sinners to repentance” he says (Mt 9:13).

There were many in Chorazin and Capernaum who did notfeel that they need to repent, much less need a Saviour. The Lord does not callthem to come. Rather, He warns them of greater judgement seeing that they havehad the opportunity to hear the Word preached to them, authenticated by manymiracles.

So, then, brethren and children, are you weary andburdened because of your sin and can bear it no longer? Has the Lord spoken toyou by His word or dealt with you with a heavy hand to show you your sin sothat your pride is broken and you feel life is miserable?

Listen:The Lord Jesus is calling you. He does not call those who are filled with prideand self-righteousness. He is calling you if you feel the burden of your sinand are being crushed under it. Oh will you not go to Him?

“Comeunto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,”says the Lord. The Lord has a promise for you. But this promise is conditionedupon your response to His call. So…

2. What isthe Condition of this Promise?

Well, the basic condition issimply: “Come.” To be sure, the Lord adds “take” and “learn” in verse 29. Butthe basic condition is ‘come.’ You cannot takeand learn until you have come to Him first.

“Come unto me” says the Lord Jesus. The Lord hascalled. If you hear His voice, go to him. Delay no longer. Now is the day ofsalvation. Come! “let him that is athirst come” says the Spirit and the bride(Rv 22:17).

Butwhat does it mean to come? Well, certainly the Lord does not mean “walk up theisle” or “come, make your confession to the priest or pastor.” No, no; the Lordsimply says ‘Come unto me.’

To the crowd listening to Him in Galilee, those whoresponded to Him would gather nearer to listen to Him, and to follow Him. Buttoday, the same call is going out to the multitude whenever the Gospel ispreached.

AndI believe we can go to Him in obedience and grateful acceptance of Hisinvitation. We can go to Him in prayer. The Lord Jesus teaches us to pray untothe Father in His name, but we can and must go to Him too. He is one in essencewith the Father, but we can also go to Him directly for He is the God-Man. Whenthe Lord says “Come unto me,” I believe He is teaching us to go unto Him inhumble prayer.

Goto Him as He has called. Go to Him believing all that He has said concerningHimself. Go to Him acknowledging your sin and guilt. Go to Him with your burdenand sorrows. Cast your burdens upon Him, for He cares for you. Go to Him askingHim for forgiveness and cleansing.

Ohwill you not go to Him now.

Go to Him as yourSaviour that He might cleanseand wash you of your sin. Go to Him also as your Lord and King, for He adds: “Take my yoke upon you” (v. 29).

Theyoke is a wooden frame fitted across the necks of oxen for joining themtogether as they pull the plow. So servants are said to be under the yoke of theirmasters (1 Tim 6:1). Similarly, subjects of a kingdom are said to be under theyoke of their king (1 Kgs 12:10). So then, when Christ invites us to take Hisyoke upon us, He is inviting us to submit to Him as Lord and King.

Theyoke is an instrument of labour indeed, but remember that without the yoke, theoxen would not be able to plough effectively at all. The yoke joins the oxentogether so that they share the load and plough in the same direction. Withoutthe yoke, the oxen will have to bear their burden individually, and will begoing in different directions. They would not be very useful at all. So whenChrist invites us to take the yoke upon us, He is inviting us also to be His usefulservants and subjects, as well as to be co-labourers (or yokefellows: Phil 4:3)with His servants already in the field.

Hisyoke is easy and His burden is light (v. 30). The yoke is kind on the shoulder,it is easy to wear, and the burden—the cross of Christ is easy to bear. Christis not a tyrant king or a hard master. He puts a yoke and a burden on us, whichHe has already put on Himself and bore when He walked in obedience for 33years.

Moreover, He promises to help us in our infirmitiesthrough His Holy Spirit (Rom 8:28), so that we will not at all find the Christianlife burdensome. “The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the HolyGhost which is given unto us” (Rom 5:5). “For this is the love of God, that wekeep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous” (1 Jn 5:3).

And not onlyare we invited to come and to put on the yoke of Christ, we are also invited tolearn of Him. He is not only ourPriest to deal with our sin and our King to lead us. He is also our Prophet toteach us.

Whenwe enter this great school of Christ, we enter with new eyes and new heartsthat we may see the kingdom of God, that we may discern spiritual things. Withthese new faculties, you may learn of Christ to follow in His steps: “For evenhereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us anexample, that ye should follow his steps” (1 Pet 2:21). We are to learn of Hishumility; we are to learn of His obedience; we are to learn His meekness; weare to learn His faith; we are to learn of His purity. We are to learn Christ(Eph 4:20).

MatthewHenry puts it well, “We must so learn of Christ as to learn Christ, for He isboth Teacher and Lesson, Guide and Way, and All in All.”

But why go to Jesus? Why take His yoke and learn ofHim?

3. What is the Promise?

Well, the basic answer is rest.If you will go to Him,He promises you to give you rest. “You shall find rest unto your soul.”

Areyou weary and heavy laden because of your sin? Are you restless because youknow that there is something seriously wrong with you, and you find no rest inyour heart? Christ alone can give you rest. Augustine, in his Confessions saysit so beautifully: “Thou madest us for Thyself, and our heart is restless,until it [finds rest] in Thee.”

Is your heart restless because of a guilty conscience and a fear of God’s judgement? Are you restless because you have lost confidence in yourself, in your friends, and in the world? Is there turmoil in you that you are no longer sure what life is about? The suffering and pain seems so pointless; and you seem powerless to do anything about it. Is your heart restless because you sense that you are heading in the wrong direction in life?

Christ alone holds out the promise of rest. He can promise rest because He came to deal with all the problems that rob the world of peace and rest. He is the Prince of Peace. He alone offers can offer real rest and peace.

Through Him we can have peace with God for He paid for the sin of all who would come unto Him (cf. Jn 6:37). Those who go to Christ are justified by faith in Him. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:1).

Through Him we can have rest within our heart, for by the work of His Spirit we are given peace of conscience (Heb 10:2).

Again, through Him we can have rest from all our struggles for significance, for recognition, and for perfectionism. Through Him we have rest from the fear of men and the daily fight to meet the expectations of ourselves and others. Through Him we have rest from our vain attempts to meet the expectations of God. For as we learn of Christ, we are made to realise that we are accepted of God not because we are good enough, but because Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us.

Again, through Christ we can have peace with our neighbours not only because His Spirit cultivate the virtues of Christ such as love and meekness in our heart; but also because He bind us together with fellow sinners saved by grace under yoke of gratitude that we may labour together for the glory of God.

Indeed, through Christ, we can have rest in the midst of the storms that rage in this present life because we are made to understand that all the trials that God apportions for those who are in Christ are for their good—for all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called of Christ according to His purpose. So Paul tells us “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor 4:17).

And finally through Christ we shall one day be completely freed of power, pollution, influence and consequences of sin. We shall then rest fully, all our tears and sorrows having been wiped away by gentle and loving Saviour and Lord.